PHILADELPHIA – one of the country’s premier Asian-American contemporary dance companies, Kun-Yang Lin/Dancers (KYL/D), announces its final home season, Echo and Flame/Fenghuang Awakens, at the Mandell Theater on Friday, March 27th and Saturday, March 28th.
Echo and Flame/Fenghuang Awakens features the world premiere of Artistic Director Kun-Yang Lin’s 110th creative work, Fire Ritual Dance/Fenghuang In Us, alongside powerful repertory pieces and a special collaborative tribute. The concert is a celebration of the company's commitment to healing, community, and the transformative power of dance, encapsulated by the mythic Fenghuang—the Chinese phoenix—a symbol of balance, harmony and renewal. This ritual-inspired journey is shaped by ancient Confucian practice, the elemental power of fire, and the myth of the Fenghuang. Through five "chapels"—Wisdom, Fire, Fenghuang, Transformation, and Us—Lin takes the audience on a journey of inner reflection and unfolding possibility. Featuring original music by Singaporean composer, Dayn Ng, and live Taiko performance by Joe Small, the work offers a shared vision of future healing and collective renewal.
An additional world premiere and tribute, 17 Moves/In Memory of Gus, is a collaborative project developed during the pandemic that honors the late dance artist Gus Solomons, Jr. (1938-2023), and features original music by Cory Neale. Based on 17 ordinary tasks assigned by Solomons, the solo will be performed by a different dance artist at each of the three performances. On opening night, it will be performed by former KYL/D Principal dancer, Liu Mo. The Saturday matinee features a performance by guest artist and projector collaborator, Dr. Pallabi Chakravorty. Kun-Yang Lin will perform the work at the company’s last performance on Saturday evening.
In addition to the two world premiere works, KYL/D will perform three acclaimed repertory pieces:
Pilgrimage (Sections of From the Land of Lost Content, 2000): Hailed by The New York Times for its "powerful simplicity," this deeply spiritual work explores themes of seeking and compassion, set to music by Philip Glass and Lama Gyurmes.
MY HOME? (2015, excerpt): A poignant solo, to be performed by Weiwei Ma, reflects on immigrant journeys, the meaning of "home," and the current political climate, informed by stories from Philadelphia’s diverse South 9th Street corridor.
Spring 101 (2019, excerpt): Lin breathes new life into famous Baroque compositions (Vivaldi, Bach) through contemporary movement and sound design by Cory Neale, evoking the joy and excitement of new beginnings.
Kun-Yang Lin/Dancers continues to share a vision of dance that transcends cultural boundaries, inviting audiences into a deeply human experience. Echo and Flame: Fenghuang Awakens promises an evening of powerful, evocative contemporary dance that speaks to the spirit of transformation.
SPECIAL PREVIEW EVENT
On Friday, February 27 @2:30pm-4pm, KYL/D will host an intimate open rehearsal, preview and discussion with the artists at its dance center, CHI Movement Arts Center (1316 S. 9th St. Phila, PA 19147). The event is FREE, but advance reservations are strongly encouraged due to limited capacity. More information available at: kyld.org/open-studio.
KYL/D Ensemble: Weiwei Ma, Keila Pérez-Vega, Takashi Kanai, Kendall Niblett, Abby Donnenfeld, Angelica Nieves-Merced, Justin Viernes, and Karen Kao.
ABOUT KUN-YANG LIN/DANCERS (KYL/D): Hailed for its superbly trained dancers and inventive choreography, the internationally-active KYL/D probes at the limits of national identity. The company has performed around the world, including at the Tanzmesse International Dance Festival (Dusseldorf), Busan International Dance Festival (Korea), Jogia International and AsiaTri festivals (Indonesia), Festival Internacional de Danza in Queretaro (Mexico), Victoria Theatre (Singapore) and HsinChu Performing Arts Center (Taiwan). In the U.S., KYL/D has performed at Lincoln Center Out of Doors Festival, Interlochen Festival, Columbia Festival, Kaatsbaan International Dance Center, Jacob's Pillow Inside/Out, the Painted Bride Art Center, The Egg, PennLive Arts, the Kimmel Center, the Forrest Theater, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Barnes Foundation and Philadelphia's City Hall. KYL/D has been supported by numerous funders including the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), the Jerome Robbins Foundation, The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage, the William Penn Foundation, MidAtlantic Arts Foundation as well as support from the U.S. Department of State.
ABOUT KUN-YANG LIN: Kun-Yang Lin is the founding Artistic Director of KYL/D & Co-founder of KYL/D’s CHI Movement Arts Center in Philadelphia. Lin has received numerous awards in his native Taiwan and has been widely recognized in the U.S. for both his dancing and choreography. Lin’s devotion to artistic excellence, movement research, education and community building inspired him to found CHI Movement Arts Center (CHI MAC), described by former Governor Ed Rendell as “a place where the entire Philadelphia community can experience the art of multicultural creative dance expression.” In 2009, Lin was named an “Artist of the City'' for his outstanding contributions to the arts and culture of Philadelphia by the Painted Bride Art Center. In 2010, the Mayor of Hsin-Chu, Lin’s hometown, honored him as a “Son of the City'' for his cultivation of artistic excellence at the international level and in 2011, he was named a “Creative Connector'' through a nomination process coordinated by Leadership Philadelphia. In 2017, Lin was also selected by NBC News as one of 30 LGBTQ+ “changemakers, innovators and rising stars” for its inaugural Pride Month list of leaders nationwide. Lin’s choreography, described as “deeply spiritual, remarkable” (Dance Magazine), has been presented throughout the U.S. as well as in Asia, London, Vienna and Mexico. Lin’s choreography has been commissioned by numerous companies including Dance Ensemble Singapore, Ballet Nacional de México, Ballet Philippines and Cleo Parker Robinson Dance. Highly sought as a teacher, Lin is regularly invited to offer masterclasses throughout the U.S. and abroad. From 2003-2022, Lin served as a full professor at Temple University’s Boyer College of Music and Dance in Philadelphia. His work is currently performed in Taiwan, Singapore and the Philippines.
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“Often transcending boundaries in ways that build connection, Lin and KYL/D are Philadelphia treasures.”
– Broad Street Review
“Dance has the power to stir the viewer’s innermost longings and outermost visceral reactions. Few choreographers reach into those sensibilities as effectively as Kun-Yang Lin. With quiet power, he arrives at the essence of an emotion.”
– Fjord Review
"...evocative performance that drew audience members into a physical and primal world, but one which also harkened to a very human spirituality and sense of unity." – Knight Foundation
“…the realm of otherworldliness“ – Dance Enthusiast
"...Lin's works are artistic adventures that captivate on many levels…if you let yourself go with his flow, you don't just watch it, you feel it, too." – Philadelphia City Paper
"Masterful…exudes a spirituality that's matchless in the local dance scene." – Broad Street Review
“Mr. Lin’s dances, simultaneously abstract and specific, create and inhabit worlds of their own, informed by that empty fullness.” – New York Times
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PROGRAM
Program Run Time: 90 minutes, including 10 min. intermission
All Lighting Design by Alyssandra Docherty
Pilgrimage (Sections of From the Land of Lost Content, 2000)
Choreography: Kun-Yang Lin
Music: Philip Glass, Lama Gyurmes
Costumes: Tamaki Kawano, Kun-Yang Lin & Sarah McCorriston
Pilgrimage: Weiwei Ma, Keila Pérez-Vega,Takashi Kanai, Kendall Niblett, Angelica Nieves-Merced, Justin Viernes, Abby Donnenfeld, Karen Kao
Compassion: Keila Perez-Vega / Kendall (3/27), Angelica Nieves-Merced / Justin Viernes (3/28)
*From the Land of Lost Content was developed in part at The Yard, a colony for performing artists in Chilmark, MA.
MY HOME? (excerpt of Home/South 9th Street, 2015)
Choreography: Kun-Yang Lin
Music: Helen Jane Long
Sound Design: Cory Neale
Costumes: Kun-Yang Lin
Performer: Weiwei Ma
Referencing immigrant journeys, the meaning of "home" and notions of “American-ness”, HOME/S. 9th St.was informed in part by the stories of residents living along Philadelphia’s famously diverse South 9th Street corridor, where KYL/D’s dance center is located. This solo speaks to the plight of immigrants experiencing the current environment of ICE raids and mass deportations happening across the country.
*a solo from the evening-length work, HOME/S. 9th St., which was funded, in part, by the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA).
Spring 101 (2019, excerpt)
Choreography: Kun-Yang Lin
Rehearsal Director: Maggie Zhao
Music: Vivaldi, Sammartini, Bach
Sound Design: Cory Neale
Costumes: Jill Peterson
Performer: KYL/D Ensemble
Using a chance method of selected music, Lin breathes new life into famous Baroque works through a pairing of contemporary movement and sound design. Evoking the joy of Spring and the excitement of new beginnings, Spring 101 marked Lin’s 101st choreographic work in his creative journey.
*Premiere: April 12, 2019 at Penn Live Arts (formerly the Annenberg Center), co-presented by NextMove Dance, Philadelphia
INTERMISSION (10 min.)
17 Moves/In Memory Of Gus (World Premiere)
Concept/Direction and Tasks: Gus Solomons, Jr.
Original Music: Cory Neale
Choreography and performers: Liu Mo (3/27), Dr. Pallabi Chakravorty (3/28, 2:30pm),
Kun-Yang Lin (3/28, 7:30pm)
A collaborative project created during the pandemic in 2020-21, the work emerged from the efforts of three mature dance artists (Solomons, Jr.; Chakravorty, and Lin) navigating the limitations of social distancing. The artists showed up for each other in studios in NYC and Philadelphia and each artist created a solo based on tasks assigned by Gus Solomons, Jr. (1938-2023) who directed that the artists make a dance out of these 17 ordinary, unrelated actions.
*Support for the research and development of the WHERE IS MY B-O-D-Y project was provided by The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage, which inspired 17 Moves/In Memory of Gus.
Fire Ritual Dance/ Fenghuang In Us (火的洗禮/凤凰覺醒) (World Premiere*)
Choreography by Kun-Yang Lin
Music: Dayn Ng
Sound Design: Cory Neale
Costumes: Jill Peterson
Prelude/Calling the Ritual: Joe Small (Taiko drumming)
I. Chapel of Wisdom: The Company
II. Chapel of Fierceness/Fire: The Company
III. Chapel of Fenghuang: Weiwei Ma/ Karen Kao, Weiwei Ma/ Maggie Zhao
IV. Chapel of Transformation: The Company
V. Chapel of Us: ALL
“Whoever walks into the fire appears suddenly in the stream…If you are a friend of the Divine, fire is your water…”Rumi
Fire Ritual Dance/Fenghuang In Us is a ritual-inspired journey shaped by ancient Confucian practice, the elemental power of fire, and the mythic Fenghuang—a symbol of balance and collective renewal. Across five “chapels,” the work moves from inner reflection to unfolding possibility. Through gesture, pulse, and breath, the dance honors transformation and collective renewal, imagining a future where healing is shared.
*Fire Ritual Dance/Fenghuang In Us was developed, in part, during 2025 residencies with Dance Ensemble Singapore (Singapore) and with the Taiko Drum and Dance Ensemble at Swarthmore College.

(from )

kyld.org/2026

• March 27 - 28, 2026

  March 27, 2026 to March 28, 2026
• Mandell Theater at Drexel University
  , Philadelphia, PA

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• Contact Michelle Tabnick for more information
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